Roswell Regional Hospital’s board narrowed its suitors to Lovelace Health System and Community Health Services. When Community Health backed out on Jan. 11 because of Federal Trade Commission concerns, Lovelace CEO Ron Stern made a call to Roswell, and the rest is history.

Dennis Domrzalski, NMBW Staff

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More than 20 firms submitted bids. The two finalists were Community Health Services Inc., of Nashville, Tenn., and Lovelace, which is owned by Ardent Health Services, also of Nashville.

In November 2011, Community Health announced it had agreed to buy Roswell Regional. But on Jan. 11, the firm said it had canceled its plans to acquire the facility because of Federal Trade Commission concerns about the deal.

Community Health also owned the 162-bed Eastern New Mexico Medical Center in Roswell, and the FTC was concerned about a single company owning the area’s only two hospitals, Schumacher explained.

When he heard about the canceled sale two days before the official announcement, Lovelace President and CEO Ron Stern picked up the phone and called Schumacher.

Stern said Lovelace was still interested in buying Roswell Regional. The hospital’s board of directors met the following day and “voted to turn its attention to Ardent and see if we could make a deal with Lovelace,” Schumacher said. On Jan. 13, Lovelace announced its agreement to buy Roswell Regional.

Stern said the deal made sense because Lovelace Health Plan has 30,000 members in southeastern New Mexico. Roswell Regional had been sending patients to Lovelace’s hospitals in Albuquerque for specialized treatment.

Ardent, which entered the Albuquerque market in 2002 when it bought the St. Joseph Hospital System, followed in 2003 with Lovelace, has since invested $300 million in capital and other improvements at its five hospitals in the Albuquerque area.

“After we finalize this transaction, we’ll immediately begin to study the needs of this community and make plans to expand the hospital, and add new services, new technology, new equipment, new physicians and new jobs,” Stern said.

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